Page 66 of Oh, Flutz!

I turn to her. “Ready?”

She nods once, a glint in her eye.

We skate out.

I’m trying hard to control my breathing, to keep my hand and my smile steady as we raise our arms up to the audience, until we get to center ice and enter our starting positions.

Katya’s on the ground in front of me, her head and arms bowed forward like the swan in the ballet, and I’m turned to face the audience, looking out and above me. The lights are blinding, and I’m trying not to squint.Please. God, don’t let me have pit stains.

The beginnings of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” sound over the speakers, and Katya lifts her arms gracefully, curving them and getting up so smoothly it’s like she really is a swan. I guess all that ballet training really comes in handy when you’re literally doing a ballet score. Hey, maybe that’s why she wanted this, so she could have yetanotheradvantage over me.

Focus, Bryan.Luckily, I remember to switch on the “adoring prince” mode Lian’s been on me about, and I lean down to take her hand and press a kiss to it before dragging her around to my other side as we move into crossovers.

I put my arms around her, and we glide together until we’re ready for the opening element, the quad twist—she’s in front of me, and I secure my arms around her waist.Here goes nothing.

I summon all the strength in my body and launch her up into the air above my head, slamming my hands down to my sides, watching with my heart in my throat as she completesone-two-three-fourrevolutions, and I raise my arms at the exact last second to catch her, putting her safely back on the ice. The audience cheers in approval.

Holy shit. The relief is so dizzying I almost forget that we’ve still got the entire thing to go.

As if she’s reading my mind, Katya gives me a “down, boy” look in the split second I catch her eye before we go off into the step sequence down the middle, turning and twirling as we prepare for the next element, the side-by-side quad Salchow.

We separate, completing the entry—my stomach’s flipping, I think I might be sick, please let me land this please pleaseplease—up, one, two, three, four, down. I can’t even process the rush of relief before I have to slam my toe pick back in and propel myself up in the air again; and somehow I land. It’s definitely shaky, and we’ll definitely get some points off for that, but I did it. I landed it.

I can’t even restrain the shocked laugh of pure glee that escapes me. Even though Katya’s silent, I know she’s happy too.

Once it's over, we’resitting in the kiss-and-cry with Lee and Juliet, huddled together, waiting for the scores. Tension’s hanging in the air, all of us hanging on the literal edge of our seats.

I try to remember what everyone’s been telling us.Keep your expectations low. Don’t expect a podium on your first try.But that felt good. We hit all the elements, didn’t fall, didn’t make any real mistakes—sure, it might be a stretch to hope for third, but it feels possible. We skated really well, probably one of the best runs we’ve had. Crazier things have happened, right? I mean, we’re sitting here together.

“Come on,” I say, not even meaning to say it out loud. I sneak a glance at Katya, who’s staring down the Jumbotron and the box where the scores are about to be.

“The scores for Andreyeva and Young.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Katya growls.

“Fifth?” I say, sounding stupid even to myself. “Fifth?”

“Smile, you’re on camera,” Lian says, smiling through gritted teeth, and Katya scoffs.

“Fuck this. Fuck all of this.”

She walks out. And, ignoring Lian’s stare pinning me, I follow her.

I have to jog to catch up with her, and I pretend not to see the camera panning to track our departure.

Once we’re safely in the hallway, Katya swings back to face me, fury all over her face. “That is ridiculous.Fifthplace? Those French twats didn’t have a quad twist. They don’t have any quads. We landedtwo. I just want to rip those smug smiles off their faces.”

I shouldn’t be riling her up more, but she’s right. Itisbullshit. The frustration stings. “I can see why the Canadians got first, and I hate the French guys too, but they were clean. Those Norwegians were good too. But Nguyen and White shouldn’t have come in before us.”

Katya practically snarls. “It’s because they have more seniority. Even if we’re a thousand times better, they’ve been together since they were pissing the bed.”

I shake my head. “Listen, once we get a couple more comps under our belt, they’ll start taking us more seriously. We have quads. No one else does. They won’t have a choice.”

“We need to put in the throw quad Salchow,” Katya says.

I give her a look. “Come on. The last thing we need right now is to fall. The triple is great. We just have to have some patience.”

“You sound like Lian.”

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